


on james potter and his impeccable singing voice

by punkrockbadger



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, James Potter aka Good Iyer Boy, Religious Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 20:58:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4194657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkrockbadger/pseuds/punkrockbadger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James Potter really is a Good Iyer Boy, bless his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	on james potter and his impeccable singing voice

**i. remus lupin**

Remus is not okay, thank you very much, but he’d like to think that his acting chops are up to par. His life honestly depends on them, and if James has him figured out, then everything’s gone. He’s going to lose his friends, lose his spot at the school, lose everything. Once they know who (what) he really is, none of the boys he's come to love as brothers will even spare him a second of their time.

His chest tightens and he struggles to draw breath, vision narrowing to tunnels,and suddenly, there’s a voice in his ear.

“Alaipayuthey, kanna, en manam alaipayuthey…” Remus can feel arms around him, rocking him back and forth, and as the fist gripping his chest loosens, he can feel James’ cheek pressed to his. “Anandha mohana venu ganamadhil. Alaipayuthey, kanna…”

“James?” Remus says, sounding much more shaky than he’d like. “James, I’m fine. You can let go.”

“Nilai peyaraadhu, silai polave nindru. Nilai peyaraadhu, silai polave nindru.” Remus loses himself in the rocking motion, and before he knows it, his breathing has settled.

**ii. peter pettigrew**

“Hey James?” Peter says, sitting down next to him awkwardly. James has been staring out the window for what feels like hours, and Peter’s gotten a little worried. Remus is in hospital for something dangerous, and Sirius is somewhere without James for the first time ever. Over the last few days, Peter’s come to a realization-- James, as different as he looks and handles himself, is not so different from Peter at all. “Sing me something.”

“Like what?” James asks, shaking his head as if he needs to force his thoughts out of his ears to think straight. “Don’t know any songs you’d listen to.”

“Something that’ll make you feel better, I guess.” Peter asks, and reaches out to ruffle James’ hair. Peter’s the second oldest of the bunch, and James is the youngest, so he should take over protecting him, when Sirius isn’t around. Everyone needs a big brother, Peter reasons, and smiles as James speaks up.

"Uh, my amma-- er, my mum sings this to me. At home. When I'm upset sometimes." He says, twiddling his thumbs, and Peter shrugs.

"Let's hear it, then." He says, nodding, and James relaxes just a little, smiling.

“Yenna thavam seithanai, Yashoda… Yenna thavam seithanai…” James starts quietly, tapping his fingers against his knee, and Peter nods along, patting his back encouragingly as his smile grows a little. It really is nice, when James sings, even if he hasn’t a clue what’s going on.

**iii. sirius black**

“I can’t-- can’t believe--” Sirius is sobbing into James’ shoulder as they exit the cremation grounds. “Fuck, mate, she’s gone now.”

James doesn’t stop herding Sirius forward until they’re safely inside the house James grew up in. He settles Sirius down on the swing his father had installed when he turned six, and then sits down beside him as an afterthought. Amma would have laughed at them both, huddling close like children on the swing, but she wasn’t here to laugh anymore. Sure, she’d been old and sick and had lived her life well, but he wasn’t going to be seventeen for another few months. That wasn’t nearly old enough to lose a parent.

“Aasai mugam marandhu poche, idhai yaaridam solven adi, thozhi…” James sings, holding Sirius’ head to his chest. It’s all he can do, now, and Amma had always loved it when he sang. He remembers being seven, and Amma sitting him down in front of the idols they kept in the cabinet, and teaching him to use his voice for something other than yelling at Frank. She would like this. “Nesam marakavillai nenjam, enil ninaivu mugam marakalaamo…”

Sirius sobs harder, and his tears are soaking through the thin cotton of James’ shirt.

Sirius needs someone, right now, James reminds himself, and keeps singing. It’s the least he can do.

**iv. lily evans**

Lily Evans Potter is in a predicament. A serious one, not a Sirius one, for once in her life.

She has no idea how to tell her husband that he sings really, really loudly in the shower. You’d think this is one of those things that Lily Evans Potter, noted fight winner and Most Courageous Gryffindor Out There, would be able to handle, but you’d be entirely wrong.

Today, James is thankfully not yelling some ridiculous Beatles tune that Peter’s been humming all week at the top of his lungs, but something off the tape that’s constantly running in their bedroom, no matter how many times either of them shut it off. James had muttered something about his mother as an explanation and justice being done for interrupting her prayers too many times, and Lily had laughed for an hour.

But this, this is just downright cute. She’s just worried it’s blasphemous.

“Kurai ondrum illai, mazhai moorthy kanna.” James sings, as he’s opening the shades and shutting the bathroom door. “Kurai ondrum illai, kanna.”

She recognizes the song he’s singing now as the one he’d explained to her two nights ago, about telling god that you had no complaints about what you’d been given, as long as he stayed with you. There was something about the rain in there, she thinks, so showers might be an appropriate place for singing this one, who knows?

James stops abruptly once he notices her watching, and smiles sheepishly, wringing his hands. “Sorry. Was I a bit loud?”

“A bit.” Lily says, grinning. “It’s alright, though. Got to be enthusiastic about something, right?”

“He’ll save us all if we ask nicely.” James says, nodding seriously, which makes Lily laugh like nothing else does. “Well, maybe you. I’ve pissed him off a bit too often.”

**v. harry potter**

“James!” Lily yells, and James is taking the stairs two at a time. He knows this particular brand of crying-- his one year old son wants a nap, and as much as Harry loves Lily, it’s father son bonding time. Lily is about to yell for him again when James pops up in the doorway of the nursery, earning a smile and wet sounding giggle from his currently snot covered son. “You take him. He’s really not willing to go down, today.”

“Give me five minutes and he’ll be asleep.” James says, surprising even himself, and Lily smirks. She thinks he won’t make it. He’ll show her. “Five minutes or I’ll do the dishes all week.”

“I hate dishes.” Lily says, a smile on her face. James has to win this now. “Sure.” He can hear her go down the stairs, and turns to Harry, who is currently bouncing up and down in his crib, bars grabbed in his chubby fists.

“Hari, we’ve got to win this.” Harry nods solemnly as he sits down on the mattress, as if he’s understood what his father is saying. “You’re gonna go to bed right now, and then Appa’s going to be free for a week. You’ve gotta win me this, buddy.”

“No!” Harry says, once he hears the word bed. “No!”

“Appa will sing you a song, how about that?” As soon as the words leave James’ mouth, Harry is jumping again.

“Song! Song! Song!” Harry calls out, clapping excitedly. “Appa! Song!”

“Only if you lie down.” Harry falls down immediately, with all the grace of a kicked over sack of potatoes, and pretends to snore loudly. “Aayarpaadi maaligayil thaai madiyil kandrinai pol, mayakannan thungugiran, thalelo…”

Harry’s asleep by halfway into the song, and James checks his watch. Three minutes. Perfect.  
  
He shuts the door behind him quietly, tiptoeing down the stairs, before letting out a loud laugh as he strides into the kitchen.

“Hey, Evans? Dish duty.” Lily, who’s been reading the newspaper, groans and puts her head down on the table.

She should have known better than to bet against him.

**Author's Note:**

> The five songs James sings (along with the translations of the lines he sings), in order, are:
> 
> 1) [Alaipayuthey Kanna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OTM3yXVvk8) \-- "My mind wanders, Kanna, my mind wanders while listening to your beautiful flute's song. Without realizing how time passes, you stand like a statue."  
> 2) [Yenna Thavam Seithanai](https://youtu.be/Y9ydiVaPQ14?t=78) \-- "What penance have you done, Yashoda? What penance have you done?"  
> 3) [Aasai Mugam Marandhu Poche](https://youtu.be/oSnGtyaLh0E?t=72) \-- "I have forgotten that lovely face-- who should I tell this to, dear friend? My heart has still not forgotten the love given, so how can I forget that memorable face?"  
> 4) [Kurai Ondrum Illai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dScFe52Of4k) \-- "I have no complaints, oh master of the rain, Kanna. I have no complaints."  
> 5) [Aayarpadi Maaligayil](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aAKw8vEOzI) \-- "In the cowherd's house, on his mother's lap, little Krishna sleeps like a calf."


End file.
